Good afternoon, everyone. Item 2, Ministers’ statements. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Northwest Territories Student Financial Assistance program last underwent a substantial redesign in the fall of 2000. Since then it has periodically been reviewed internally, resulting in increases to some benefits, such as tuition and book allowances, repayable loan monthly limits and the lifetime loan limit.

We have now started an independent review to determine if the basic grant, supplementary grant, remissible loan and repayable loan levels are at appropriate levels to assist students in pursuing post-secondary studies. There are approximately 1,400 students who access SFA on an annual basis.

The review will also ensure that the program contributes to this Assembly’s goals and priorities in developing a healthy, educated workforce, and developing skills and resources to meet the needs of our northern communities.

In May 2011, Members of the 16th Legislative

Assembly provided feedback on the terms of reference for the review. The contract was awarded to Development, Planning, Research & Analysis Canada, and a steering committee has been formed, comprised of representatives from the Education, Culture and Employment income security and advanced education programs, Aurora College, the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the ECE service centre in the Deh Cho region. There are five members in total on the steering committee. The working group, made up of ECE staff, has also been formed.

Consultations have involved current and past students, parents, Aboriginal organizations and other interested parties. To reach the broadest range of participants, the consultants used various methods, including telephone and face-to-face interviews, regional focus groups and on-line surveys. We will be reaching out to all NWT students for their feedback.

The information is being analyzed and compiled into a report that will be submitted to the department in the new year. I look forward to reporting the results to this House. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of MACA, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide Members with an update on the way the NWT Sport and Recreation Council has improved access to quality physical activity, sport and recreation programs for all NWT residents.

Earlier this fall I met with the NWT Sport and Recreation Council executive to discuss their 2011-2012 funding program. We agreed that while there were some challenges with the process, in general the results were positive. More people are participating, and all sport and recreation organizations received more funding than they did in previous years. And accountability and efficiency standards have been introduced. In the future we can expect services to improve even further.

We also agreed that improvements to the 2012-2013 funding program should be explained to sport and recreation organizations early so that funding can begin to flow by April 1, 2012.

To facilitate this discussion, the council will convene a meeting of these organizations early in 2012. We will talk to them about their governance role as mandated by the department. We will confirm with each organization that they are a valued member of the sector, and outline their roles and responsibilities related to the SRC. We will also outline plans for implementing the SRC’s goals and objectives and the new funding model for 2012-2013 and future years.

I will be speaking at the opening of the meeting to clearly state the department’s goals for the sport, physical activity and recreation sector in the Northwest Territories.

These goals will improve the health and well-being of residents through increased physical activity, sport and recreation participation, and healthy lifestyle opportunities for NWT youth.

The NWT Sport and Recreation Council funding program for 2012-2013 will also include requirements related to the evaluation of programs and an overall reduction in administration costs.

Investing in sport, physical activity and recreation programs contributes to the health and well-being of all residents. It is important that we continue to invest in these priority areas, and that we provide organizations working with us a clear and concise understanding of the goals that they should be achieving.

I am confident that the NWT Sport and Recreation Council will improve their work in this area and along with their sporting partners continue to make a valuable contribution to the quality of life for residents in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, of all sectors, tourism presents the greatest likelihood of creating economic opportunities in each region, and for each community, especially in the smaller communities. Today I would like to talk about a few specific initiatives to grow tourism in the Northwest Territories.

We are now in the first year of Tourism 2015: New Directions for a Spectacular Future,

the

Government of the Northwest Territories’ five-year tourism investment plan.

One of the first priorities under this plan was to establish an Aboriginal Tourism Champions Advisory Council. The council was formed this past July and has already made some progress establishing a strategy to grow Aboriginal tourism in the NWT. Planning is underway for an Aboriginal Tourism Champions Forum this spring. The forum will bring the Government of the Northwest Territories, the tourism industry and Aboriginal organizations together to explore ways to grow and develop the Aboriginal tourism sector.

The Tourism Product and Marketing Diversification Program has been highly successful over the past few years in creating and expanding world-class tourism products that attract visitors and increase their spending in the NWT.

The program helps tourism businesses to expand, diversify their product lines and market their businesses. This in turn helps them to diversify their businesses and creates new employment opportunities. Tourism businesses across the territory have benefitted greatly from this funding.

Well-trained tourism staff can deliver our products both professionally and knowledgably. The new Tourism Training Fund will assist with short-term training to provide skills for someone to get a job in the NWT tourism industry or improve the skills of those already in the industry. The training also helps to ensure tourism operators have a workforce trained to meet their needs. They will cover up to 75 percent of the training costs for businesses or individuals engaged in nearly any tourism sector in the NWT.

We are also coming out of a successful summer parks season and tourism numbers were up again this summer. This is an exciting time for NWT parks, which host around 25,000 campers per year. Over half of the campers from outside of the territory are over age 55. This segment of the Canadian population will grow by 45 percent by the year 2021. This is an age group that loves to camp. Therefore, we can expect to see strong growth in demand for campgrounds over the next decade.

Tourism is a significant contributor to the NWT economy and brought in nearly $100 million and 65,000 visitors this past year. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the 17th Legislative

Assembly to continue the investment in new tourism products, marketing, support for the development of Aboriginal tourism, and maintaining our services and amenities in our parks and campgrounds.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Premier, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Glen Abernethy will be absent from the House today to attend a meeting with the federal Attorney General in Ottawa.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 3, Members’ statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When I did my constituency visits in the Sahtu at the end of November, the community that I went to was Fort

Good Hope. During my constituency meetings with the people in Fort Good Hope, a lot of speakers in my constituency spoke on the increase of cancer in that community. The people were saying that they’re very afraid. It’s very stressful for them. They’re very worried that they may be the next one diagnosed with cancer. People are being diagnosed on a monthly basis. They are very concerned with what is going on, with what is happening. There are some very healthy people who have cancer. There are some very young people who have cancer.

People are crying out for help. There has been an increase of cancer deaths in the Northwest Territories. It has increased in Fort Good Hope. Eighty-six percent of Fort Good Hope cancers diagnosed were people aged 50 and older. The top cause of cancer in Fort Good Hope was colorectal.

I had young people in the public meetings crying because they know that their father or mother is going to die. I’m going to ask the Minister what type of specific support there is or what we can do to help the people in Fort Good Hope to deal with cancer, deal with the families, the communities.

There’s a lot of sadness in Fort Good Hope because people are getting cancer at an alarming rate. They don’t know if it’s from the water, from the Mackenzie River or from the federal government buildings that are contaminated. They don’t know what the heck’s going on. They want answers. We need to provide support for the families and the young kids who are left to deal with the losses in their lives.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will be speaking about the same topic as my esteemed colleague here, a very uncomfortable topic called cancer, as well.

One can only imagine the stress that one undergoes the moment one is diagnosed with this terrible condition. Most often the original diagnosis is done in faraway places like the Alberta Cross Cancer Institute and the patient is discharged with a limited supply of medication. The patient then returns to the NWT tired, confused, stressed and typically wanting nothing more than compassion and help. Many of these patients have no medical coverage or insurance, or limited coverage, and soon realize the problems that arise in covering the costs of expensive pharmaceuticals not covered by our Extended Health Benefits Program. Some patients are forced to pay for their drugs up front, sometimes amounting to several thousands of dollars, as they wait for program approval. Some

patients cannot afford to do this and those that do pay find themselves in financial crisis relatively quickly. I am also sad to say that some who cannot afford their therapy slip through the cracks of our systems, where their experiences are not monitored closely enough.

The other part of this domino effect is many patients require regular travel to get their treatments and find themselves out of pocket for those expenses not covered. Let’s all keep in mind that many patients are off work for their treatments or are too weak or too sick to continue their employ. This has a further impact with less personal income to deal with all these financial burdens.

I am painting today a true picture for what a new cancer patient may experience. My question later today for the Minister of Health will be why is the Extended Health Benefits Program so slow at times to respond to these situations. We know, from experience, our provincial counterparts have created policies to fast track the application process for cancer patients. Yet, in the NWT we have no formal process in place. There is a clear indication the NWT needs to do a better job at eliminating these stresses from the lives of our cancer patients in this 17th Assembly, and I seek the support of my

colleagues to drive home this message. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last few years we’ve heard increasingly about the mining process called hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, is a process where sand, water and chemicals are blasted into rock formations, such as shale, coal beds and tight sands, to gain access to trapped natural gas deposits. This injection process creates cracks in the rock formations and allows the gas to flow up the well.

Fracking has been linked to earthquakes in the United States, caused gas infiltrations into aquifers and, thus, several communities’ water supply, created environmental contamination from the chemicals used in the process, has been banned in several Canadian jurisdictions, has been condemned by the Dene Nation, and last but not least, uses huge quantities of water.

The Council of Canadians opposes fracking because of its high carbon emissions, its high water use and the danger it poses to polluting groundwater and local drinking water. People living in communities where fracking projects are underway have reported health concerns and burning water where water from household taps

catches fire due to residual methane gas from the fracking operations.

At my recent constituency meeting, constituents expressed their concerns about fracking: the effect of fracking on permafrost – nobody’s considered that; that we have no knowledge in the NWT of our groundwater – our aquifers are not mapped; and that we have little, if any NWT research on fracking. Now this process is likely coming to the NWT. It’s already just across the southwestern border in BC and is being strongly considered for gas and oil extraction in the Sahtu.

I’m not against development. I’m not against the expansion and the growth of our economy, but I do feel we must temper any development with strong consideration of the effects it will have on our environment. So little is known about how the fracking process impacts the lands and peoples close to any development that uses it. I understand the Ministers of ITI and ENR are looking into these impacts and I’m very glad to hear that. It’s of utmost importance that NWT residents know what we’re getting ourselves into if we allow this process for oil and gas development.

The NWT may not be able to control approval of the development, but we can certainly do two things: one, take an active role in the environmental assessment process and be an intervener in any process; and, two, we can do the necessary research to understand the risks and the impacts that fracking will have on our territory.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

To quote the Council of Canadians: “We need the facts about fracks.” It’s the responsibility of a government to protect its people. This government must take the appropriate actions to do just that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to acknowledge the students throughout the NWT attending school and preparing for their individual Christmas concerts. Our families enjoy gathering at the school and take pride in watching their children take part in many skits, the Christmas stories and the carolling throughout the evening.

In many of our communities it is the time to dress up in traditional clothing, new mukluks, new mitts and smaller traditional gifts from their mother,

grandmother or aunties. The highlight of the night is when Santa shows up with treats for everyone.

I would like to apologize to the staff and students at the Chief Paul Niditchie School, Chief Julius School and Moose Kerr School, all of which are preparing for their Christmas concerts on Wednesday evening. I will not be able to attend due to timing. However, I would like to extend my best wishes to all of the students. I know that they will make their families proud. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to make reference back to the Caucus priorities set forth by the 17th Legislative Assembly.

One component that I personally thought was missing was the component to honour our youth, and, actually, it is really great to see a strong contingent of youth in our gallery today. I would like to take this opportunity just to reassure the youth of the Northwest Territories, and reassure all those organizations that do great work with youth in the Northwest Territories that it is on our agenda within certain departments, as you heard today in the Minister’s statements by ECE and MACA, that we do have an invested interest in our youth and all the programs that are set forth throughout the year that I have been happy and very lucky to be a part of over the last couple of years working with MACA.

On that note, I would like to congratulate all the staff and hard workers of the Northwest Territories that work in sport, youth and volunteer programs throughout the Northwest Territories that put invested time and interest into our youth, that the GNWT is behind them and that we are going to be working with them. Such programs as, for instance here at the Ledge, we have the Page Program, which is very successful; and Northern Youth Ambassadors Program, which gives youth an opportunity to travel throughout Canada and internationally; and one of the more successful programs is the Youth Ambassadors Program, which has been very successful since its initiation into the NWT and through Municipal and Community Affairs.

I would just like to take this opportunity to let the youth know that we do stand behind them and that they are our future, and that when we invest in our youth, we are investing in our future that is going to create a new generation of healthy, educated adults as well as our future leaders of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up on the Housing Minister’s statement on the Shelter Policy review and public housing rental assessment rates.

On November 3rd last year, this Assembly called on

the government to reduce the maximum rate for assessment of public housing rents from 30 to 25 percent of gross income. Yukon charges 25 percent of gross income and Nunavut has a sliding scale between 10 and 28 percent. As an example, public housing for a four-person household living on two minimum wage incomes in Detah pay $1,200 per month at 30 percent, or about 40 percent of net income, leaving them about $2,000 after taxes to meet all other monthly expenses. Even a 5 percent reduction would put $200 back in that family’s pocket as food, clothing, the ability to buy hockey gear or Christmas presents.

This Assembly has identified housing as a top priority. The Minister’s statement last week reported that rent scale adjustment is one of the issues under consideration in the Shelter Policy review. That’s good news and I’m going to be looking for downward movement on the maximum rate to at least 25 percent or even 20 percent, in line with our neighbours.

The Minister also spoke of the moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rental arrears and provided Members with information on the $8 million in outstanding rents owed by 3,500 tenants. One lesson here is that while there are some who don’t pay rent and should be made to, there are many for whom the 30 percent rate is just too high.

We have all heard the cases of people who are better off not working than taking two minimum wage jobs and seeing their rents skyrocket from $32 to more than $1,000. In communities where almost no one can own or privately rent a home, we have to recognize that access to housing is a public need no less critical than health care. We need a rent scale regime that is a sensitive mix of cost recovery, incentive to work and meeting the critical need for adequate, affordable and accessible housing.

I’ll be asking the Minister questions on his new plans for development of just such a system. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.